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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — for sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — certain
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — a line
  11. kid — child
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. field — a subject
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — a phone
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bulb — for light
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. field — farmland
  24. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com